News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-02-10

| AAS ACAI SbAdhSo tnAuS was inc dp
parent death of the condemned.
looked into his cell one day and founc
him, as l believed, stone dead. A doc
tor was called, and he said it was a cas-
of heart disease. In about twenty hour
Foxen suddenly returned to life, refused
to answer any questions, and called TO
and ate hearty meal. / was to hav
the keeping of him about seventy day
before his sentence would be carried out
and was naturally worried over such
slippery fellow. As the Jail contained
only two other inmates, | put Foxen il
corridor by himself. Five or six day
after his restorat on to life l was sitting
alone in the front office, busy at som,
letters, when heard soft iootialls in tlt
corridor. Just as l rose up Foxen rushed
passed my door and out of side door
but as the Jail was surrounded by high
wall he could not get away. l led hin
pack by the ear, and to my utter aston
ishment found the corridor door az
firmly secured as when / left it at noon
1t was doubly locked, and the heavy
bars were only three inches apart.
searched Foxen for key, but he had
nothing, not even bit of wire or astick
to unlock the door required key weigh
ing six ounces, and boy II years of age
could have scarcely turned it. How did
he get out Answer the question fol
yourself. never could, though 1 de-
voted hundred times the thought to il
that you will. To question him was
useless; he simply preserved silence
After that put death watch on him
trusty man, well armed.
In a couple of weeks Foxen died again.
This time called in four or five of the
leading do tors. His heart had ceased
to beat, his pulse was g, ne, and his face
took on that palor which only deaf can
bring An electric battery was tried, but
it produced no effect. The limbs became
stiff and rigid, and pins were thrust into
the soles of his feet without bringing a
vince. Every physician staked his rep
utatiOn that it was case of death, and
l went after the undertaken to prepare
the body for burial; he was away and
could not look for him before morning.
The body was left on the bed in the cell
and the man on watch removed. 1t was
: o'clock in the evening when Foxen
died. The turnkey slept on a cot in the
other corridor. At midnight he was
awakened by call, and he went to the
door of the other corridor to find Foxen
standing there in good health, and to
hear him say:
81 wasn't on hand to supper, but I'm
hungry and will take it now"
The outside public hears very little of
what goes on in prisons. l had no in
tention of permitting the world to know
what human curiosity had got hold
OF l wrote a statement to the Cover
nor, feeling that he would be personally
and the queer mistake made
by the doctors was sufficient to prevent
them from gossipIng aloud. As much to
satisfy my own curiosity as from a sense
Of duty, | sought to have a confidential
ak with FOxen and learn something of
lis feelings, while IN the wonderful
tate have described, but he exhibited
lis hatred and distrust the moment I
came near him. l could get nothing
whatever out of him, and soon gave up
the attempt Perhaps the reader will be
norriied when l admit that was anxious
to hang the fellow. He had committed
a horrible murder, he had sought my
own life, and he had such a hardened,
desperate look about him that any one
would be satisfied after the first glance
that he had more of the instincts of a
brute than the feelings of human be
ing. 1t was, therefore, with much sat
that l rea1 the reply of the
Governor, who was hard hearted man
with Ii tie mercy on red handed muir
derers. His instructions, or suggestions
were to double the watch on Foxen, and
not to bury his body, IN case he "died ;
again, without post-mortem examina-
ton.
had no further anxious experiences
with my prisoner until three weeks be
fore the date of his execution Then a
third woman came, this time from Buff
falo, to claim him as her son Joseph
Parker. Before permitting her to see
him made her furnish a close descrip-
ton. His picture had been published
far and wide, and she might have detect
ed fancied resemblance. So reasoned
but she gave age. height, and weight
very correctly, described his limp, and
gave the location of moles, scars, and
q birthmark exactly. There seemed no
reason to doubt that she was really and
truly his mother. When brought them
face to face his demeanor was exactly
the same as in the two previous instan-
ces. He called her mother, asked her
about other members of the family and
was not in the least embarrassed TO keep
up a conversation lasting an hour. He
did not shed tear nor evince the least
emotion, while she was greatly brok n
down. She was the third mother who
had identified him as her son, while one
mother had been assisted by the father.
What was to be thought of such strange
state of affairs2 Who of the three were
mistakenl Why did Foxen permit each
Of the trio to identify him and weep
over him.
| did not double the watch on him,
knowing that the one man was trusty in
every sense of the word. Understand
lad two men -one for day and one for
right; but while one watched the other
slept The watch sat at the door of the
There were six cells in there, all OF
which were locked except tho one occu-
pied by Foxen, and l had the key in my
OWN pocket. Each door had a State
Prison paddock, and the key had not
entered one of them since Foxen was
placed in the corridor. l am Just as
certain that the five cells were locked as
| am that l breathe at this moment. So
was the death watch to the dav of his
own death. Two days after the last
mother called, the bell, which the watch
was instructed to pull in case ANYTHING
sounded in my ears at mid
night, and | tumbled out OF bed and
down stairs without stopping for any
thing,
"He's gone." were the words which
greeted me as | reached the heavy door
on the inside of which the watchman
stood.
unlocked the door and went in and
locked it after me. Foxen's cell was at
the further end, and his door was wide
open. | walked to it and looked in
His bed was empty, so was the cell
Il can't make it out, )" whispered the
watch, who was pale and trembling
g He went to bed about nine O'Clock. /
looked in on him every half hour, and
each time he seemed to be sleeping. At
uO was Ou bue DTOdu Ol HIS DaCk,
with hands locked under his neck. At
midnight he was gone"
You might have slept"
On my life, no; but if I had. the
door was locked when you came down.
and you see the bars to the windows are
all right"
examined each bar in turn, and then
passed along the front of the cells and
flashed the light into each. In the
third cell sat Foxen. arms folded. ewes
looking into mine, aDd his face wearing
a sneering expression. When | unlock
ed the padlOck-and Pm telling YOU
that / did have to unlock it-and open